The Gulag killed my child and gave me one
The story of Irena Kawaschová. A Slovak woman who brought life into the world in a place where death reigned.
Published as part of educational program Gulag XR
As the war reached its peak, she embarked on a risky journey just so she could be near her sick child and bring another one into the world safely. But she never made it to her first, and she lost her second because of it. Instead of loved ones, years of almost limitless suffering in the worst Soviet camp awaited the innocent woman. But even in the hopeless lands beyond the Arctic Circle, she eventually managed to bring new life into the world. And although she and her son soon faced many years of cruel separation, she did not give up. After the political horrors had passed, she managed to track him down and build a new home for him and herself when the Stalinist regime deprived her of the original one.
